The Betrayed Master Betrays In Turn

Chapter 28

“Men.”

At Viktor’s calm voice, the soldiers’ cheers gradually subsided.

He swept his gaze across the soldiers with a powerful look before speaking.@@@@

“I am Viktor.”

After introducing himself briefly, he fell silent.

“Waaaaaah!”

In the sudden silence, someone let out a cheer first.

“Waaaaaah!”

“Viktor! Viktor!”

In an instant, this turned into a massive roar.

Even though he had been absent for a while, the soldiers' support for him remained firm. Recently, he had made a name for himself as the Chairman of the Council, which gave him more authority than the king, who was to be crowned tomorrow.

The soldiers who remembered how Viktor had lifted their morale with speeches during the last war began to anticipate what he would say just by seeing him stand at the podium.

Viktor waited for the cheers to die down before continuing.

“First, I would like to express my gratitude for your hard work.”

Before diving into the main topic, he started by warming up the crowd with praise for their efforts.

“For the past two years, we have fought together in the Northern War. The Battle of Serkutsuk, the Battle of Angelgorod, the Siege of Zabinsk... Thanks to your blood and sweat, we survived. When Vladimir raised his heinous rebellion, you rose up and crushed the traitors, moving to put an end to the kingdom’s chaos. It was thanks to your strength that we overcame the crisis. However.”

Viktor paused to take a breath.

“We are now faced with yet another difficult decision. Just yesterday, we received intelligence that the Imperial Army has started to move once again.”

“...The Imperial Army?”

“What the...?”

At Viktor’s sudden statement, the soldiers, who hadn’t heard anything about the Imperial Army, began to murmur. Even the officers, who had not been briefed, were equally surprised, and confusion spread quickly.

“The Imperial Army stationed at the border is led by nobles who are beyond the Emperor’s control. It is highly likely that they may take advantage of the chaos in the Kingdom of Rus and invade independently.”

“Such cowardice!”

“Is this war again?”

“Still, with the General here, we’ll be fine!”

The soldiers tried to shake off their fear with their trust in Viktor.

“During the Siege of Zabinsk, I stood before you as the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Rus, under orders from His Majesty. I spoke of hope. I told you that with our strength, we could defeat the Empire and protect the Kingdom of Rus. I argued that I needed your help.”

Viktor, well aware of this, gradually softened his tone as he continued his speech.

“At that time, I stood here without shame. I was ready to march into battle with you, to lay down my life alongside you. I encouraged you with nothing but my determination to give my all.”

The soldiers, recalling his words and actions on the battlefield, nodded in agreement.

“But now, I do not have the right to push you into such danger. The only reason I could return to the Kingdom of Rus was due to the favor of the Emperor of the Empire, Louis Seinburg. Once the Council is dissolved, I must leave the kingdom. If I do not return, the negotiations will collapse entirely, and even the Emperor’s forces, which have remained idle, will invade the Kingdom of Rus.”

“What?”

“You’re leaving? Aren’t you staying?”

Leaving those final words, Viktor stepped away from the podium.

For a while, the soldiers, still enveloped in the emotion of the speech, were lost in thought before they returned to their barracks, led by their officers.

---

As long as the soldiers were convinced, the opinions of the nobles filling the court, or even that of the soon-to-be-crowned king, no longer mattered.

The Council had not yet been dissolved, so the nobles, who had no real power or fame, could not resist my influence, the one who held the real authority.

Not to mention, the king, who hadn’t even been crowned yet, was out of the question.

There was no way the nobles could overturn this decision, so I had scheduled our departure for the next day to give the soldiers time to settle.

As I went over the speech in my mind, two key points had been important to me: justifying my declaration of surrender and stirring up the soldiers’ emotions, especially their fear.

It wasn’t difficult.

I mixed in some lies to amplify the soldiers' anxieties and portrayed the current nobles as no different from those who had been executed.

The story about the Empire moving or the nobles insisting on fighting was false, but the truth didn’t matter.

It was a believable lie, and since it came from Viktor, the most trusted man in the Kingdom of Rus, once the soldiers believed it, there would be no way to undo it.

To verify the truth, they would need to check with the Empire, but that was impossible.

In the end, by expressing my disappointment in the kingdom, I secured a reason

to prioritize the soldiers' safety over the defense of the state.

It was necessary for the ‘Viktor’ who had remained loyal to the kingdom even after being betrayed to finally change his mind.

The soldiers must have recalled the hopeless Northern War before I became Commander-in-Chief, so I doubted they would refuse surrender.

It had always been me persuading them not to surrender, but this time, I was the one suggesting it.

In such a dire situation, who would reject their Commander-in-Chief's suggestion to surrender?

“We will follow your lead, General.”

“...Thank you.”

Of course, they wouldn’t.

After the speech, I spoke with soldiers who came to my tent. Most agreed with my decision, and those who were still undecided had their doubts resolved after we talked, eventually agreeing to surrender.

The only ones who might still have lingering doubts were the noble officers, but most had severed their ties with the nobles during the rebellion to survive.

I doubt they would oppose a decision supported by the Commander-in-Chief and most of the soldiers.

“General Viktor.”

“Hm.”

After sending a messenger to the Imperial camp to explain the situation, I spent the night talking with the soldiers.

---

The next day at 9 a.m.

Thankfully, the front gate of Zabinsk Castle was packed with soldiers, all marked by the green of their uniforms.